Pedestrian safety a problem for towns

Officials seek answers amid high death rate

By: Kyle Morel
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... A pedestrian has been struck and killed by a vehicle about every two days over the past few years in New Jersey.
..... According to state police compiled by the Street Smart NJ campaign, 876 people were killed on the state's roads from 2015 through 2019. Pedestrians comprised 176 of New Jersey's 558 traffic deaths in 2019 (31.5%), nearly twice that year's national rate of 17.3%.
..... The statistics are startling even for the most densely populated state in the country. Police officers attribute the totals not only to the high amount of people, but also to the lack of safety precautions from drivers and walkers alike.
.... "The Northeast is very crowded, and an increasing number of people are competing for time and space on the roadways," said Fair Lawn police Captain Joseph Dawicki. "It's becoming a real problem."
.... The deaths in the state have left local officials wondering - what can be done to protect pedestrians in New Jersey?

Some danger to pedestrians:

..... Fair Lawn is among the departments looking to curtail the problem before it gets worse with public safety campaigns to reduce the likelihood of accidents. The borough has recorded 71 pedestrians struck by motorists over the past four years, four of which were fatal, Dawicki said.
..... Each town in North Jersey, from the rural to those with bustling downtowns, has its own challenges.
..... In Morristown, three pedestrians were killed in motor vehicle crashes from 2010 through 2020. Police Sargent Brian LaBarre estimated that the town sees between 20 and 25 pedestrian accidents each year, a byproduct of a popular business area with a significant nightlife crowd visiting bars and restaurants.
..... "Walk-ability is one of Morristown's keystones right now, and it's definitely part of their master plan," LaBarre said. "We are left with the task of managing that - how do we strike a balance between moving both cars and pedestrians in a busy, urban-style downtown."
..... In largely rural Sussex County, the town of Newton - which police Lieutenant Michael Monaco referred to as "the city of the county" - has seen only one fatality in the pedestrian safety measure for its residents.
..... "Newton is a small, compressed town," Monaco said. "We're walking town, we have a lot of intersections, we have some major thoroughfares with a lot of cars driving through them."
..... Morristown, Fair Lawn and Newton make up there of the 13 North Jersey communities that have taken part in the Street Smart campaign conducted by the nonprofit organization TransOptions.
..... The group, in partnership with local officials, attempted to reduce crashes with the so-called "three E" approach: education, engineering and enforcement. TransOptions organizes programs and social media campaigns and provides temporary street signs dedicated to traffic safety, while police offers ensure drivers and pedestrians are adhering to the rules of the road.
..... "We try to point out specific locations in a town and highlight the associated safe behaviors needed at that location,: TransOptions project manager Laura Cerutti said via email.

Reducing crashes:

..... Speed is one of the more obvious contributors to pedestrians accidents, though police officers say the responsibility for such crashes is split between motorists and people walking. just as drivers must adhere to speed limits, pedestrians also need to be aware of their surroundings even in designated walking spaces.
..... "Some people have the impression that they can just walk immediately out into a crosswalk and every care is just going to stop immediately," said Fair Lawn Police Sargent Brian Metzler. "The pedestrian has to be a little bit smart to when it comes to crossing. Just because they're in a crosswalk doesn't automatically mean cars are going to be able to stop that quickly."
..... LaBarre's general rule of thumb is that any pedestrian accident involving a care traveling at least 30 mph will result in serious injury, if not death. Because many crashes involve commuters who are not as familiar with the town layout, the department has increased its social media campaign and placed signs in English and Spanish at busy intersection throughout Morristown.
..... Another initiative police use is a pedestrian decoy, as a plainclothes officer crosses the street ahead of a vehicle coming up to the crosswalk. Other officers calculate the driver's perception-reaction time - the amount of time it takes for a motorist to recognize and avoid an obstacle in the road - and can stop the vehicle if they feel the driver is being reckless.
..... "We assume a care is going 8 to 19 miles an hour higher than the speed limit," and then we double that perception-reaction time, LaBarre explained. "So if we get a violation there, it's fairly egregious. It's someone that really should have seen the pedestrian and come to a stop for them."
..... Officers can provide a summons for the violation, but LaBarre said he often leans toward education rather than enforcement in those situations. Instead of a ticket, he will hard drivers a brochure promoting traffic safety and remind them to be aware of their surroundings.
..... "I don't even want these programs to e seen as a ticket blitz. That's not how we view them," LaBarre said. "We view them as essentially trying to change driver or pedestrian behavior or both. Sometimes a summons is a really good way to do that, and then other times giving out educational cards or just getting your message out verbally is a good way to do that."

Education an important step to safety:

..... To highlight the importance of traffic safety, Newton partnered with Street Smart for two months in 2015 and 2018. Like in the Morristown campaign, plainclothes officers would stop jaywalkers or speeding drivers and provide pamphlets on proper roadway procedures, while also handing out gift certificates for local restaurants to people obeying traffic law.
..... Because many students in Newton walk to school, the department also dedicates time and resources to the town's three public schools. Monaco said officers spend about an hour each morning and afternoon making sure the children are suing designated crosswalks, which are manned by about a dozen crossing guards throughout the town.
..... The education-based approach to combating pedestrian crashes, along with the addition of new signs, has lead to a community that is generally more aware of traffic law and more willing to follow them, the lieutenant said.
..... "We're had an increase in the amount of what I would call adherence to the law,' Monaco said. "The education certainly has gotten better, the word has gotten out. "We've increased visibility as far as signage."
..... LaBarre said Morristown has seen " a little bit of a tick downward" in pedestrian accidents thanks to the recent steps the department has taken. But perhaps more importantly, the town has all but eliminated the "outliers" that are often caused by either a driver's or walker's poor decisions.
..... "A lot of our pedestrians accidents now are, I don't want to say freak accident,s but they're low-speed events," LaBarre said. "It's more of not paying enough attention, and i think that we've drastically reduced these [cases of ] darting out into traffic where you're going to see these accidents with significant injury."
..... While Fair Lawn saw a reduction in crashes after unveiling Street Smart campaign in January 2020, Dawicki noted that was likely door to less traffic and fewer residents walking around amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, the department is optimistic that its initiatives are already increasing awareness and will only expand as more data becomes available.
..... "I think the more that we do, the word gets out there and people are going to be a little more cautious [thinking]. "Is that an undercover cop in the crosswalk?' " said Captain Brian LaRosa. "We're all trained to go out and walk in the crosswalk; we just don't take it upon ourselves [to do it]."

Looking to the future:

..... New Jersey took a big step toward reducing serious accidents this month, [08/2021] as Governor Phil Murphy signed bipartisan legislation requiring motorists to adhere to certain safety precautions when overtaking pedestrians, bicyclists or scooter riders on the road. The law was inspired by the death of Oscar Zanoni, a Metuchen mans struck by a tractor trailer while riding his electric bicycle in January 2020.
..... Under the new law, drivers should change lanes if possible when passing, or keep a distance of at least 4 feet while approaching and maintain that space until the vehicle has safety passed. When neither option is feasible, motorists should slow their vehicles to a maximum speed of 25 mph and be prepared to stop.
..... Any violation of these rules that cases body harm will result in the drive being fined $500 and assessed two motor vehicle points. The violator will be given a $100 fine for infractions that do not lead to pedestrians injury.
.... On the local level, BaBarre said Morristown has applied for state grants and is hoping to soon install rectangular rapid flashing beacons at select crosswalks. The technology behind the beacon is relatively simple; pedestrians push a button that lights up the area suing a randomized flash pattern, alerting drivers to stop and allow them to cross the street.
..... "We're seen it be successful in other communities with a walkable vibe," LaBarre said, "so that's something that we're certainly looking at to try to increase safety form the standpoint of the pedestrian."
..... The various safety initiatives, and the increased police presence they entail, do have their share of detractors. Dawicki said comments on the Fair Lawn Police Department's social media pages often criticize such police details as a from of entrapment or a way to generate revenue and meet ticket quotas at the end of the month.
..... However, there are also plenty of people who appreciate the officers' efforts to keep the roadways safe.
..... On one recent police operation, LaRosa recalled, a man sitting on his porch watched officers stop cars several times throughout the day. Each time they did, the man - a longtime resident tired of vehicles speeding past his house - signaled his approval with a thumbs-up.
..... "He just kept coming over [and saying], "this is good, this is good," LaRosa said. "A lot of people come up and, after they realize that you're a police officer, they come-up and they actually thank you, which is nice,"
..... Monaco cited the pedestrian safety initiatives as not only a way to prevent serious injury and death in town, but also an opportunity for police officers to form a stronger bond with residents.
..... "They're always positive," he said. "We really enjoy being part of that because it kind of breaks down the barriers that we have. They're great grassroots-type initiative that most of the officers, even the older ones, enjoy."
..... So are the initiatives working?
..... With an approach that is mutually beneficial for both law enforcement and local residents, TransOptions believes New Jersey towns are on the right track to reversing the troubling statistics from recent years.
....."Every community is different and we have had overall success in working with both municipal and law enforcement representatives,' Cerutti said. "Making sure all players are committed long term to improving traffic safety culture and preventing serious crashes is always needed. ... We are optimistic that our partnerships will continue to grow as we work with more communities and they look to us as a resource for transportation needs."

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